EAST-WEST DIVIDE CAN HAMPER FINALISING COMMON G20 RESOLVE

CHINA'S announcement that President Xi Jinping would not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi came as a dampener for India. Russian President Vladimir Putin, engaged in a war with Ukraine, had already communicated his inability to attend the Summit. Putin called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him about his absence. But Xi showed no such courtesy. The Chinese government said Premier Li Qiang would lead its delegation.

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The West has downplayed Xi's absence by describing it as an indication of the growing tension between India and China over border issues. But there is more to it than just the border dispute. Geopolitical issues are at play as well. After championing the cause of the Global South at the BRICS Summit, Russia and China aim to sharpen the discourse around their narrative that the East is rising and the West is on the decline. India's growing proximity with the Western bloc to counter China's geopolitical and economic hegemony may have contributed to Xi's decisio